Trade Shows and Union Extortion

In case you didn’t know, one of the more outrageous examples of union extortion comes from the guys who control the floors of trade shows in big old blue cities like Chicago.

As a former marketing executive, I can tell you that nothing is more offensive than discovering that your own technical people aren’t allowed to plug in a light at Chicago’s McCormick Place on their own.

We would have to contact the exhibit manager, who then would have to locate a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and we’d end up paying hundreds of dollars (minimum) for them to plug in the light!

The same is true for virtually everything that happens on the trade show floor (food, cleaning, setting up, breaking down, etc.).

In exchange for this obvious scam, the IBEW and all of their union cronies would continuously pour money into the local democrat campaign coffers to “protect” their outrageous racket.

One of the great things about living in a free country is that people are able to take their business elsewhere when they think they’re getting screwed. And that’s exactly what happened to Illinois during the first year of the Obama administration.

According to the Trade Show Industry web site meetingsnet.com:

“In recent weeks, Chicago has lost business due to costs concerns, including the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society, which selected Las Vegas over Chicago for an upcoming meeting, citing higher labor costs in Chicago. Also in mid-November, SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association, announced that for the first time since 1971 it would not be returning to Chicago for its triennial International Plastics Showcase. Instead, SPI booked Orlando for its events in 2012 and 2015.

SPI said the organization, its attendees, and exhibitors would save up an estimated total of $20 million on booths, labor and services, lodging, travel, and other costs by making the switch.”

Clearly, this created a huge problem for the city of Chicago — no trade shows means no jobs, no hotel/restaurant taxes, no outrageous fees from union extortion, and NO POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS FOR DEMOCRATS.

Faced with this crisis of biblical proportion, the city of Chicago formed a blue ribbon commission to figure out how to stem this union/political carnage.

Here’s what John Gates, chairman of the board at the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, said when he announced the formation of the task force on November 18:

“We are trying to turn lemons into lemonade—we get it, we understand our customers’ concerns, and we are going to be aggressive in finding a solution together.”

Anyway, in political terms, this blue ribbon commission reached a conclusion in record time (demonstrating just how dire it is when the funds that fuel union graft dry up). Last week (May 7), the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation to make costs for exhibitors at McCormick Place more competitive and hopefully entice trade shows back to Chicago.

Exhibitors will be able to set up their own booths no matter what size booth they have with power hand tools and ladders.

Pay only straight time for labor performed weekdays in the first eight-hour shift that occurs between 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Eliminate non-working stewards, and set the size of the work crew based on safety needs and the scope of work at hand.

Eliminate the requirement that conventions use the center’s in-house electricity provider and allows exhibitors to bring in their own food and beverage for booth staff.

Chief Union Hack -- Joe Biden

And this is my favorite part, David Causton, McCormick Place’s general manager, said in a video on the Chicago Meeting Matters web site:

“To paraphrase Vice President Joe Biden, this is a really big deal. That the city needed a deal big enough to stem the loss of shows to competing destinations became increasingly obvious last year as two high-profile events decamped to other locales. Our convention industry was at a breaking point, and the jobs and tax revenue it brings to our city and state were in jeopardy.

This process has been a collaborative effort. Many people, including our customers, rallied together to make this sweeping legislation possible. Now, after months of hard work, all we need is for Governor Quinn to sign this bill into law.”

Union Retaliation?

Sounds like a happy ending, right? Wrong, as we see daily in Greece, greedy union bosses refuse to give an inch to to save others. Rumors of strikes and protests have started to build. Frank Libby, president of the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters said:

“It will have a dramatic effect on the earning power of our carpenters.”

Yeah, I bet it will. No $200 fees to hammer in a nail in McCormick place — why on earth do we need carpenters at a trade show in the first place?

I’m sure they’ll be plenty of huffing and puffing in the land of Jimmy Hoffa, but like much of the news lately, I find stories like this quite refreshing. It shows that when faced with fiscal Armageddon, even ultra liberal government bodies like the Illinois State Legislature can “do the right thing.”

Maybe we’re not the next Greece after all — but let’s not jump to conclusions!